Based on Nvidia’s Ion graphics technology and featuring a nice 11.6-inch high-resolution display, the HP Mini 311 ($494.99 direct, at the time of our review) touts superior graphics performance and full high-definition display capabilities, a combination not usually associated with netbooks. While its graphics performance is certainly better than the average netbook's, it struggles to play 1080p-resolution content smoothly, and its keyboard, though spacious, could use an upgrade, as well. However, we find this netbook a good fit for mobile users who enjoy movies on the go or others who need some extra graphics oomph.
The glossy white lid features HP’s subtle-yet-attractive Imprint Swirl design and sports a silver HP logo in the upper-right-hand corner. (A version of the netbook with a Black Swirl lid is also available.) The chassis, measuring 1.2x11.4x8 inches, weighs in at 3.2 pounds, which is slightly heavier than most netbooks but still very portable. The silver keyboard deck is uncluttered, save for a small power switch and a Wi-Fi on/off button near the hinge. The keyboard is not quite full-size, but it does have oversize keys, which we always appreciate. However, the typing experience isn't quite right: The keyboard has way too much flex, and the keys are mushy, giving it a cheap appearance and a loose tactile feel. The touch pad, however, is generously wide and very responsive, as are the dual mouse buttons, which emit a satisying audible click but are not overly noisy.
As noted, the Mini’s 11.6-inch screen is outstanding. It has a native resolution of 1,366x768 and features HP’s BrightView technology, which produces vivid colors and superb image clarity. The glossy panel is somewhat reflective, but on a screen this size, that’s not much of an issue, and it helps provide a wider viewing angle. The Webcam embedded in the screen’s upper bezel is adequate but a bit grainy in quality, so don’t expect highly detailed video or still pictures. Still, it’ll suffice for video chats and the occasional e-mail photo.
HP’s Imprint design is available in White Swirl (shown here) or Black Swirl.
You’ll find the usual array of netbook connectivity ports along the right side of the chassis, including two USB ports, an Ethernet port, a VGA output, a combined headphone and microphone jack, and a five-format card reader. On the left are the power jack, an additional USB port, and an option not found on most netbooks: an HDMI port for connecting to a high-definition external display.
We hooked the Mini 311 up to a 47-inch LCD HDTV, and the HDMI output worked flawlessly. (Although the netbook had some trouble playing back 1080p content, that had nothing to do with the HDMI port.) Wireless networking comes by way of a Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n adapter with built-in Bluetooth capabilities, and you can order an external optical drive since the Mini 311 does not have an internal drive. A DVD burner will cost you an additional $49.99, while a Blu-ray drive goes for $129.99.
The Mini 311 is powered by an Intel Atom N280 processor, which runs at 1.66GHz, and 1GB of DDR3 system memory. The big news here has to do with the inclusion of Nvidia’s Ion graphics-processing technology, which is based on the GeForce 9400M graphics engine. The Mini 311 actually uses the Ion LE GPU, which for all intents and purposes is a full-blown Ion chip that lacks support for DirectX 10. Featuring real-time video encoding (courtesy of Nvidia’s CUDA technology), support for full HD video (720p and 1080p), HDMI connectivity, and accelerated Blu-ray playback, Ion technology is engineered to bring improved graphics performance to the netbook market—or at least that's the claim. Our testing confirmed that it does indeed deliver on that promise, although there are still a few kinks to work out.
To see how the Mini 311 handled high-definition video, we downloaded several clips from Microsoft’s HD Showcase, as well as a clip from a TV broadcast in 1080i. The Magic of Flight clip at 720p played smoothly and looked fantastic on the 11-inch screen, as did a clip from The Weather Channel in 1080i. However, when we played the 1080p (1,440x1,080) version of The Magic of Flight, the video stuttered several times along the way. Granted, it did play, but you certainly wouldn't want to sit through an entire movie with this much lag. Nvidia suspects that the choppiness may be caused by HP's use of a single memory module, thus limiting the Mini 311 to single-channel memory throughput, rather than the dual-channel operation that would be possible with two identical modules running in parallel. (Note that HP offers the Mini 311 in a single-DIMM configuration only: 1GB, 2GB, or 3GB.)
Typical netbook ports are located on the right side.
We also ran our 3DMark06 benchmark test, which measures DirectX 9 graphics performance, and received scores of 1,570 (at 1,024x768) and 1,438 (at 1,366x768), the highest netbook scores we’ve seen since we tested the Asus Eee PC N10Jc. While the scores are very good by netbook standards, they are still fairly low in the scheme of things and indicate that the Mini 311 is not well-suited for playing today’s demanding 3D games. In fact, it scored a measly 7 frames per second on our low-resolution Company of Heroes Test, which is torturously slow.
There’s an HDMI port and a USB port on the left side.
On our CPU-centric benchmark tests, the Mini 311 performed pretty much as we expected it to. It completed our Windows Media Encoder test in 27 minutes and 52 seconds, which is right around average for a netbook but almost 5 minutes slower than the speedy MSI Wind U210-006US. Its iTunes encoding time of 18 minutes and 42 seconds was a little faster than average, but the MSI Wind’s time of 8 minutes and 29 seconds remains the top score for netbooks. The Mini 311 gave us 4 hours and 37 minutes worth of battery life on our DVD rundown test, which is not terrible, but it pales in comparison to systems such as the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (5 hours and 3 minutes), the Acer Aspire One 751h (6 hours and 14 minutes), and HP’s own Mini 5101 (6 hours and 21 minutes).
Our review unit came with a 160GB hard drive loaded with Windows XP, but if you require more storage, you can have it configured with either a 250GB or a 320GB drive. Windows 7 Home Premium is also an option that’ll add $50 to the cost. The drive is preloaded with a few useful applications, such as ArcSoft’s TotalMedia Extreme multimedia authoring and editing software, and TotalMedia Theater3 for HD video playback. You also get HP’s QuickSync utility, which lets you easily synchronize the Mini with other notebooks or desktops via a wireless connection. Unfortunately, the system is also loaded with some bloatware, namely the boatload of Wild Tangent games that accompanies nearly all HP systems.
To be certain, the inclusion of Nvidia’s Ion LE is a big step in the right direction for the netbook market. While its gaming capability falls short of the hype, we’re relatively pleased with the video playback. If you want a stylish netbook with a nice 11-inch screen that can deliver quality 720p and 1080i content—and maybe even push it to your big-screen HDTV—the HP Mini 311 delivers.
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